Dolph, Oregon

This is
an article written by Lloyd McKillip
that was retyped in 2004 and posted on this website by Dean Bones.

Dolph was
a town located in the Coast Range Mountains astride the boundary line
separating Tillamook and Yamhill Counties. It was primarily a stopping
place for travelers to rest on trips to and from the coast and the Willamette
Valley. The road from Woods, located on the lower Big Nestucca River,
to Grand Ronde was built in the period from 1878 to 1882 by Jordan Fuqua
and sons. He maintained a toll gate near the top of the mountain, which
later became the town of Dolph. There seems to be some question whether
the road Fuqua built went clear to Grand Ronde, as Hardy Rock states when
he came to the Nestucca Valley in 1876 they traveled by team and wagon
as far as Lenos, where they rented Indian ponies to complete the trip
by trail (from Lest We Forget page 191).

Dolph was
named after Joseph N. Dolph, a U.S. senator from 1883 to 1895. The post
office was established in 1886, a school was started in 1889, and also
in 1889 Fuqua sold his toll road to Carl Landingham who lived nearby.
At one time besides the post office and school the town had a hotel, store,
saw mill, barrel and stave factory, livery stable, blacksmith shop, and
a campground for travelers who wanted to rest or go hunting.

Also on
the Little Nestucca road about a half mile from where the road forked
from the road toward Hebo, George Baxter had a toll gate and a blacksmith
shop. He maintained the road that went down the Little Nestucca. Baxters
also had a hotel of sorts and what they advertised as health-giving Sulphur
Springs.

In 1916
- 1917 a public road was constructed from the Little Nestucca road up
the Sourgrass Creek over the summit of the mountain and joining the old
road at what is still known as the Bee Ranch. The new road was dedicated
in 1917 with a celebration at the bridge which crossed Sourgrass creek
about one quarter mile from the county line separating Tillamook and Yamhill
counties. Secretary of State Ben W. Olcott, later governor, gave a dedication
speech, a picnic lunch was served, and after a ribbon across the bridge
was cut, a caravan traveled the new road to the Bee Ranch and return.

As for the
original town site on the top of the hill, there was no reason for its
existence, so it just died a natural death. The post office was closed
in 1921, the school was moved from the former townsite and relocated at
the top of what is still called Dolph Hill and was on the west side of
Highway 22. It was used until about 1930 when the Dolph and Castle Rock
schools were consolidated into the Hebo School District.

Nothing
remains of the old town site of Dolph but the apple orchard. Where the
former town was located it has all been dozed off by the present owners,
Publishers Paper Co., and planted in young trees. The cemetery which was
located on top of a hill about a half mile from the town has about a dozen
graves, but only about two or three can still be located.

As for the
town that was relocated, nothing of it remains. Baxter operated it for
a number of years. He tried to advertise his Sulphur Springs with not
much success. A service station was built right in the junction of the
two roads, but as log trucks kept loosing logs and destroying the gas
pumps, it soon closed. I don't know how long the hotel operated, but it
was still going in 1934 - 35 as the contractor on the road relocation
between Dolph and Castle Rock had their headquarters there. The last people
to live in the building were McFarlands, but I don't think they operated
it as a hotel. That was sometime in the 1950s. The building burned down
not long after that. As for the sulphur springs, nothing remains of them.
My son, grandson, and I made a trip just a few days ago to try and locate
them, but to no avail. The brush and blackberries are so thick you can't
get through them. We may make another try this winter after the brush
dies down.

Grand Ronde
as used here was the old town of Grand Ronde in Yamhill County, located
where the agency is now and where the old fort was constructed and remained
until it was moved to Dayton's town park in 1911.

This information
has come from Tillamook Memories, Tillamook Lest We Forget, the Yamhill
Historical Society files, and also from my boyhood memories. I checked
with Evelyn Rock to see if she agreed with the accuracy of what I have
written. Mrs. Rock is the widow of John Rock who was the son of Hardy
Rock mentioned in the early part of this narrative. Mrs. Rock's maiden
name was Etzwiler. She was born in 1898 and has lived all her life in
the Oretown area. Her father was a fisherman on the Nestucca Bay and crossed
the mountains many times to sell fish in the valley. She still lives on
the original Hardy Rock homestead.